2075 euro for one days gardening work.

NOAH

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A friend had to redo end of garden as a result of storms and got the bill today. Could never get a straight answer from the gardened re a quote. They now know why. They got bill today for €2075 euro.

this is the breakdown

1. 4 mature trees @120 each, jac monti, they agreed this. €480

2. one days labour, 3 men and a mini digger 9.20 - 5.30ish then return and plant 4 trees about 1hour aprox. €750.00

3. 12 mature laurals at 25 euro each = €300( were told 18 euro plus vat)

4. railwway sleepers, cut and laid, painted, 4 tonne of stone ie like pea gravel. plastic €280 euro.

5, 22 small plants, some top soil, 8 stakes(hold trees in place) and ties €265.

Labour included taking out existing withered hedge, tranplanting 6 grown bamboo plants, put up link fencing, about 40 foot, 7 posts, all supplied.

It seems an awful lot and they are quite shocked.

is it reasonable? labour seems high, gardener owns min digger so no hire charge involved, Its a cash deal so vat would be extra at 13.5%!!

I think they were expecting 1500 cash. This is my estimate.

12 LAURALS at €18 = €216.00
22 plants at €8 = €176 and that would be pushing it, plants are tiny.
sleepers 2 at €35 = € 70.
stone 4 ton at €30.00 = €120 dount it took 4 tonne
plastic =?
Trees = €480

labour 3 men plus machine 100 each per day, €300.00, machine hire for one day €80 euro, top soil say 80 euro.

I make that €1552 off top of my head.

But maybe things have changed.

500 extra euro is a lot. The fence they paid €95 for and €32 for stakes extra.
 
They must be big laurels at that price. Paying for large laurels is a waste as they can grow 3-4 foot a year
22 plants needed stakes
Sleepers are expensive at €35. I would think €25. Why would you need to paint them if they are real railway sleepers?
Stone at €30 a tonne all depends on the type of stone. Seems cheap IMO.
Labour could be higher than your quote depending on their qualifications. If they are qualified landscapers etc.
Price for trees depends on size and type €120 would be on the high side.

In fairness they should have asked for a quote before agreeing on them doing the job.
It seems expensive though, but did they get a breakdown and try and bargain them down?
 
I know a landscaper and he pays 130 each to two young men he has....it can be back breaking work, outside and long hours........just because he owns the mini digger doesnt mean it doesnt come with its own costs.

I dont think e750 for the work that was done was expensive,

did they get any other quotes, where they happy to go cash route and yes, they should have got a price n even bargained on it..
 
It doesnt sound overly expensive to me, are they happy with the work?? They should really have gotten a firm quotation in advance. In fairness they sound like a pretty professional crew to get that amount of work done so quickly.would your friend have been happier if it took 3 days for the same price?
 
Your friend is at fault for not getting a quote. It was up to her to ask for same before she told them to go ahead with the work.

There is a cost to the digger even if you say it belongs to the gardner. All their equipment has to be replaced and this will be built into any price.

She can ask for the bills for the plants, or go to a garden centre and price them herselves to compare.

There is a cost to the gardner coming out to see what work is to be done, there is a cost to managing the men, there is his profit. If he's got these men on the books I'm assuming he has to pay prsi etc. He will also have insurance. The equpment had to be ordered and put in place, someone had to go and purchase the plants and materials.

There is a lot more to this than 3 guys doing a days work.

I agree with poster Mark1, sounds like a very professional job, that costs. And excellent to have that done in a day.
 
I too think it is pretty reasonable for the work done. Would the person feel less aggrieved if they had charged €2K and taken three days to do the work? Are you sure that the bad feeling down to a significant sum being paid for just one day?

In any event, the golden rule is to ALWAYS agree the price in advance. To not do so was foolhardy to say the least...
 
Too late to argue the fact now.

Also, when you are suggesting a 'cash deal' are you suggesting they are evading tax? If so there's zero comeback.
 
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